West Jaintia Hills (Pron: ˈʤeɪnˌtɪə) is an administrative

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the state of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The united district (Jaintia Hills District) was created on 22 February 1972 and occupied an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

of 3819 km². It had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 272,185 (as of 2011). The district is part of the

Meghalaya subtropical forests The Meghalaya subtropical forests is an ecoregion of Northeast India. The ecoregion covers an area of , and despite its name, comprise not only the state of Meghalaya, but also parts of southern Assam, and a tiny bit of Nagaland around Dimapur ...

eco-region. With the bifurcation of the erstwhile Jaintia Hills District into East and West Jaintia Hills Districts, West Jaintia Hills District came into existence on 31 July 2012 with its headquarters at

Jowai Jowai (IPA: ʤəʊˈwaɪ) is the headquarters of the West Jaintia Hills district of the state of Meghalaya, India, and is home to the Pnar, a sub-tribe of the Khasi people. It is located on a plateau surrounded on three sides by the Myntdu riv ...

. Jowai is the host of all the heads of important governmental offices and establishments, educational institutions, hospitals, banking institutions, etc.

Geography

The total area of the district is 1693 km². The district comprises one Civil Sub-Division Viz. Amlarem Civil Sub-Division and three Community and Rural Development Blocks viz. Amlarem C&RD Block, Laskein C&RD Block and Thadlaskein C&RD Block with the following boundaries: * North – Assam * South – Bangladesh and East Jaintia Hills district * East – Assam * West – East Khasi Hills District

Economy

Although the mainstay of the district is agriculture, however, due to the abundance of

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, plenty of Cement factories have been set up in the district (now East Jaintia Hills). More are set to come up. Coal mining at sites like Lad Rymbai (

East Jaintia Hills district East Jaintia Hills district is a district with its headquarters at Khliehriat in Meghalaya state of India. The district was carved out of Jaintia Hills district on 31 July 2012. Khliehriat and Saipung are the two community and rural development b ...

) is also one of the major activities. Coal mined here is mostly exported to

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. Most of the coal mining sites are now situated in the East Jaintia Hills district.

Agriculture

Lakadong Turmeric is a type of turmeric variety found on the West Jaintia hills district. It is one of the world’s finest turmeric varieties with the highest curcumin content of 7-9 % in comparison to 3 % or less in other turmeric varieties. It has been identified under the One District, One Product (ODOP) initiative of Indian government. The State of Meghalaya has also applied for a Geographical Indication tag for it.

Divisions

Administrative divisions

United Jaintia Hills district was divided into five blocks. With the bifurcation of the erstwhile district, West Jaintia Hills is divided into three blocks: {, class="wikitable sortable" width=65% style="border:1px solid black" , - bgcolor=#99ccff , Name , Headquarters , Population , Location , - bgcolor=#F4F9FF , Amlarem, , Amlarem, , 43,844, , Jaintia Hills Subdivisions Amlarem

, - bgcolor=#F4F9FF , Laskein, , Laskein, , 90,402 , Jaintia Hills Subdivisions Laskein

, - bgcolor=#F4F9FF , Thadlaskein, , Mukhla, , 1,37,939 , Jaintia Hills Subdivisions Thadlaskein

Transport

Since it is land locked region and lack of railways and airport, the only means of transportation is roadways. The main highway which runs through the district is

NH 40 National Highway 206 (NH 206) was a National Highway in India within the state of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. NH 206 connected the towns of Chittoor and Honnavar, Via: Sira, Kadur, Shivamogga and it was 650 km long.NH 44 National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country. It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, ...

Demographics

The district has a total population of 272,185, of which 134,406 are males and 135,946 are females. The density of population is 159.69 per km². Scheduled Tribes are 257,941 which is 94.76% of the population. {{Bar box , float=left , title=Religion in West Jaintia Hills (2011) , titlebar=#Fcd116 , left1=Religions , bars= {{bar percent,

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, dodgerblue, 67.12 {{bar percent, Others*, chartreuse, 28.40 {{bar percent,

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, orange, 3.50 {{bar percent, Other or not stated, black, 0.98 , caption=*Animists and ethnic religions

Languages

{{Pie chart , caption = Languages of West Jaintia Hills district (2011) , label1 = Pnar , value1 = 78.17 , color1 = teal , label2 =

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, value2 = 12.55 , color2 =deepskyblue , label3 = Khasi , value3 = 6.64 , color3 = darkblue , label4 = Others , value4 = 2.64 , color4 = gray At the time of the 2011 census, 78.17% of the population spoke Pnar, 12.55%

and 6.64% Khasi as their first language. The common dialect in West Jaintia hills is Pnar, closely related to Khasi. Other dialects include Khynriam in the western part of district and War in the southern part of the district.

Culture

Places of interest

The places of interest in Jaintia hills include the below: *Monolith in Nartiang{{cite news, url=http://www.merinews.com/article/worlds-tallest-monoliths-in-jaintia-hills/15711193.shtml, title=Tallest Monolith, date=2009-02-17, website=Merinews.com, accessdate=18 October 2017 - Touted as the tallest monolith in the world. *Jowai: Jowai, the headquarters of the West Jaintia Hills district is situated 64 km from the national highway. A town circled by the Myntdu River. * Thadlaskein Lake: 56 km from Shillong. According to legend this lake was dug with the ends of bows by members of 290 clans of U Sajar Niangli, a rebel general of Jaintia Raja, to commemorate the great exodus of the clans. *Megalithic Remnants- Nartiang: 65 km from Shillong, was the summer capital of the Jaintia Kings, of Sutnga State. Huge monoliths, form a landmark in the village. The Nartiang menhir measures 27 feet 6 inches in thickness. *Syndai: An important village of West Jaintia Hills which is famous for a number of caves and caverns in the limestone-borne area, used as hide-outs during war times between Jaintia Hills and foreign intruders. *Syntu Ksiar: Syntu Ksiar, which means 'golden flower' is a vast pool of calm water, where the river Myntdu which almost encircles Jowai, appears to come to a sudden halt. *Krangshuri Falls: A tourist spot in Amlarem Sub-Division (War-Jaintia)

Education

Although West Jaintia Hills is not known as an education hub. Good schools and colleges do exist in Jowai, Khliehriat and

Nongtalang Nongtalang is a small town located in West Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya, India. Connectivity Nongtalang is well connected by roadways to Shillong and Jowai Jowai (IPA: ʤəʊˈwaɪ) is the headquarters of the West Jaintia Hills distri ...

. Prominent Colleges in West Jaintia hills include Jowai Polytechnic which is an AICTE recognised college and the only Nursing School in the district is Dr. Norman Tunnel Hospital School Of Nursing, there are other colleges too namely Thomas Jones Synod College, Nongtalang College and Kiang Nangbah Govt. College

which offers degree courses in arts and science. Jowai has good schools too for Secondary and Higher Secondary level , some of the well known schools in Jowai are K.J.P Synod Mihngi Higher Secondary School, St Mary Mazzarello Girls Higher Secondary School , North Liberty Higher Secondary School etc .

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
{{Geographic location , Centre = West Jaintia Hills , North =

Karbi Anglong district Karbi Anglong district is one of the 34 administrative districts of Assam in India. Diphu is the administrative headquarter of the district. The district is administered by Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council according to the Sixth Schedule of the C ...

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Cachar district Cachar district is an administrative districts of Assam, district in the state of Assam in India. After independence the undivided Cachar district was split into four districts in Assam: Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills), Cacha ...

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East Khasi Hills East Khasi Hills is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in India. The district headquarters are located at Shillong. The district occupies an area of 2752 km² and has a population of 825,922 (as of 2011). , it is the most ...

, Northwest = Ri-Bhoi {{Meghalaya {{coord, 25, 27, N, 92, 12, E, type:adm3rd_source:itwiki, display=title {{DEFAULTSORT:West Jaintia Hills District Districts of Meghalaya Autonomous regions of India 2012 establishments in Meghalaya